The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Washington County, MN
Washington County is home to 276,200 residents and includes Woodbury and Cottage Grove · Updated November 2026
Is Washington County, MN safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Washington County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 78% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A+ against A. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Washington County run from A+ to B+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 932 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
78% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Washington County as a whole, and 22% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Washington County scores 932.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Washington County, MN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Washington County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Washington County
Robberies and car thefts both run low. In Washington County, each runs at a small fraction of the US rate: 0.12 robberies and 0.68 car thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 and 2.7 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in Washington County
Every part of Washington County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Washington County run from A+ to B+; 96% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Washington County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Afton area has the least crime and the Oakdale area the most.
Is crime going up in Washington County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Washington County is up 10% and property crime is down 48%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 0.9 to 1.0 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 19 to 9.8 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 16%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Washington CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Washington County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Washington County
Violent, US
Property, Washington County
Property, US
2016
+13%
+4%
+6%
+15%
2017
+4%
+4%
+10%
+12%
2018
-3%
+0%
-13%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-2%
+4%
+0%
-8%
2021
+34%
+6%
-12%
-10%
2022
+14%
+5%
-28%
-6%
2023
-5%
+2%
-44%
-7%
2024
+10%
-4%
-48%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Washington County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Washington County has about 17 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 55% less than the US as a whole and 45% less than Minnesota.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Washington County, about 51% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Washington County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Washington County, 2022 to 2024.
In Washington County, 50% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 41% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (50%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (39%)
Morning (6 am to noon)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (41%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (34%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (47%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (55%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Washington County compares with nearby counties
Washington County has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest counties. Pierce County, WI and Polk County, WI have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Washington County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Washington County is safer than 88% of them.
Empty homes, shops and walkability in Washington County
Two things set Washington County apart: it has 2.6% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and a Walk Grade of D- (10 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less burglary and arson, and burglary runs low here.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.2.6% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 99% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.7.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 94% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 92% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (10 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 81% of Americans
Show all 6
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.33 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 79% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.6% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 76% of Americans
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.78% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 64% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Washington County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Washington County about $415 a year per household, 66% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $41 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $101 million a year, or $367 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.6 million
$9
Rape
$3.8 million
$14
Robbery
$1.0 million
$4
Assault
$11 million
$40
Burglary
$2.7 million
$10
Theft
$12 million
$44
Vehicle theft
$2.9 million
$10
Arson
$200,000
$1
Vandalism
$5.0 million
$18
Total
$41 million
$150
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Washington County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Washington County, MN average a SchoolGrade of B: 43% of students test proficient, against 54% projected for schools like them. Overall, they don't meet expectations. See schools in Washington County on SchoolGrade
